Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler RIP Gary Gygax

D&D Co Creator passes

I was never big into D&D, but I do remember a few evenings in my youth going through some ruins and taking on some monsters.

The magic-user casts Resurrect.

Sorry, had to be said.

Bren R.

Never got into D&D.

I heard it said that he missed his saving throw.

He shoulda upgraded to the chainmail armor ...

Leather stuff fails every time ...

Funny. I spent many entire weekends and just about every storm day playing D&D. Went through the whole 'parent thinking I was addicted' thing too. But honestly, when you grow up in a small fishing & lumber mill town, what else was there to do?

In hind sight, it kept us out of a lot of trouble because our alternative to D&D on a Friday night was always beer. At least we alternated hobbies instead of just beer.

In a way, I still play the evolution of D&D a few hours a week when I fire up Vanguard, an adults answer to World of Warcraft.

I did a little RPGing in high school, such as Traveler. My brother was more into RPGs and got a nice collection of D&D and Star Trek manuals online.

Never got into it, but I've been curious. RIP, Gary. You were funny on Futurama, too.

I know I've heard it, but I can't remember how to pronounce his last name. Anyone?

Guy-gax

That's what I thought. Thanks!

My brother's response:
So much for sales of the Immortals Rules...

We're getting a family deal on tickets to hell apparently.

I played the original (Basic, Master, Companion, Master, Immortal) set, but never AD&D... also Middle Earth Role Playing (which had a great set of rules) and Top Secret:SI (which was just plain awesome).

Bren R.

Wow.
There's not many people that may even remember that one Bren. It was rather short lived.
One can always find a good online resource for them now though.
http://spies-r-us.org/
Great stuff.

My own experience with tabletop RPGs is extremely limited. Being a huge Star Wars nerd, I played the Star Wars RPG, but if my dad had his way, I wouldn't have even played that. There were some good times, and some arguments. Overall, I thought it was nice mental exercise, and I wish I'd done a little more.

I think my best friend still plays different RPGs when he gets together with his brother. His brother has quite a few shelves full of RPG books, and I think it's pretty much a weekly affair.

Someone at work is also still heavy into D&D and Warhammer, and he's 33 or so. After he got married, he was thinking about giving up gaming upon turning 30. Hearing him talk about his quests can get a little old at times, but still, he enjoys it, and I told him that if he enjoys it, he should continue. When it comes down to it, he's a responsible guy and doesn't neglect his wife, so I see nothing wrong with him spending time on a hobby he enjoys.

Anyway, Gary Gygax's contributions to gaming are apparently going to live on for a long time. It's an impressive legacy to leave behind, and I'm sorry to hear of his passing.

RIP Gary.

His first game of his I got was “Chainmail” followed quickly by the original D&D boxed set. Must have played almost every role-play game from the 70’s because of him, but due to cost finally specialized in D&D, Traveler, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Runequest. Wrote my 1st computer program on our high school mainframe to generate D&D encounters for my world. Ended up in college in the SCA doing live action D&D in the tunnels below the dorms at Oregon State. Major geek action here but it was worth it Gary!